Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-11-05
At THE AGENCY.
WE NEED GUNS.

kaport Of the Cnlei Oh Of"""~"e ." '1A"
necessities of the seryise and for
Coast Defences.
WARRINGTON, November 3.-Brigadier-
r.,eral Bennett, Chief OF Ordnance, has
,hmitted his annual report to the Secre-
.,v ., War. 1t shows the total expendi.
,,s Of the bureau during the fiscal year
5e7 s52. During the year Al, 900 rifles
Nd carbiues we're manufactured at the Ma.
ional Arnory. General Bennett says:
rbe ouestion OF reduced calibre for small
,,ms is now under consideration by the
,nartnent. An effective and simple mag
iue gun has become necessity. This
rreauhas during many years endeavored
srough boards and trials in the field to
uttls on one that would be satisfactory to
he srmv, but thus far without success.
no department is, however, seeking to
,spb such q result, and from the little
bet can be learned OF magazine systems
,d TO have been adopted abroad, am
[r,uaded nothing is to be gained at this
rnrture by haste" The report says,
bviDgto
THE FAILURE OF CONoREss
b psss the regular appropriation bill, the
lspsrtment has effected but little during
tbe uast year in the direction OF providing
,pus, carriages and powders. ETC., Tor coast
defense, Under the head of rifle forgings,
the rsport saws: domestic manufacturers
nave at last triumphed ever their limita.
tions and have obt tained success in spite oi
Inadequate iaciiities." un this subject Gen.
eraI Bennett saws: "It is believed to be ol
vitsI interest TO the whole country that
such liberal appropria tions be made by
Congress from year to year, until our pres
mt inter aes stitution rs to modern guns bt
nievsd. ~ s;:al! furnish, the substantial en-
nurarme+ and aid that our ste-l indus
nv demtrt,s, 4 a step III his direction,
nave asked IN nv annual estimate Tor al
,Dpropriation OF $1B0. 900 for the procure
rspt OF forgncs for eight and ten inch bar
nlsteel guns. This sum
SHOULD PROCURE STEEL
u about fifty eight-inch guns and abou
hrty tsn.inch guns and to allow the nsces
nry time to erect additional plant TIL
vuropriation should be made availabl
utl eypep,:.d. Rams and torpedoes AM
tnamte :aas are with poweriuianxiliar1e
nharbvr defense but the warcOndltlons ye
obtaining shall not dispense with har,
hammering oi heavy shot moving WIZ
h,hveloci.y, because ethese.auxilaries then
nIves ned protection and OF q mos
1erect character. Dynamite guns wit
limited range cannot be left to the mere
d nuch.l reaching guns OF the enemie'
ap. Attacking ships must 6e kept ao
distance by heavy guns ana long ranx
nortars, the comparatively low COAST
nortars enabling us TO compensate o
numbers for any lack OF accuracy OF Ut
Heavy cannon are therefore a necees''
and
MUST BE PROVIDED
snd our unprotected coasts demand the
smovided speedily" The report sa:
thsdynamite torpedo gun can De 'air
Perfected and it is recommended that q l
inch gun be purchased for e1hausti'
trials to determine its full. capac'ty a.
Stness for coast defense. FavoraDIe ~:
ton is also made OF Stevens dyna m'
shell. II is said that with the excePC,on
the he20,OOOthree-and:two-thirds.inch 20, 900 par
field guns just issued to the service there
nstore only old muzzle loading guns
limited power rep escnting sysoe
twenty-five years old and now oosole
sbile there are no serviceable carria :,
An estimate OF $225,OO0 is accord'nl
submitted for the purchase OF sixty co
plsttly equipped steel guns. BalhstlG !e, '
ian s.inch gun, it is said, show g. n'g,
elective energy than any gun o'
taibre extant.